Legal Pressure On Israel Mounts
About a month ago, I wrote about the convincing case brought by South Africa against Israel. That brief alleges that the current attacks on the people of Gaza represent a breach of the Genocide Convention.
Today, oral hearings began in yet another case regarding Israel, before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
This case is much broader in scope and has been brewing for a much longer period of time.
In December 2022, the UN General Assembly requested an advisory opinion from the court on the legal consequences of Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The proceedings will only last six days but during that time, the panel of judges will be able to consider not only the occupation, but also whether Israeli practices and policies violate legal norms that prohibit racial discrimination and the crime of apartheid. The ICJ will also have the opportunity to establish the legal responsibilities of other countries (and the UN itself) about how breaches of international law should be addressed.
This is all clearly very important, but a worthwhile question to ask is what will this actually achieve? After all, the court is only being asked for an advisory opinion and, in any case, Israel rejects the court’s jurisdiction over its rule in the West Bank.
That is true, and, as with the genocide case brought by South Africa, will probably not change very much on the ground for Palestinians who are simply struggling to survive.
Nevertheless, the fact that the court is even taking the case on is “a diplomatic and legal success and achievement” according to Riyad al-Maliki, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine. The vote in the General Assembly was won by 87 votes to 26.
Furthermore, the advisory nature of the opinion by the ICJ may actually offer the judges more freedom to assert the legal position in the knowledge that it will represent a form of pressure on Israel more than a strict legal directive.
The early decision in the genocide case demonstrated that the court is not afraid to stand-up to Israel and its Western allies, this advisory opinion is a chance to go a step further and continue to exert pressure on Israel to end the bloodshed.
This week on the podcast, a Russian divorce case finds its way into the English courts.
Episode link: https://uklawweekly.com/2024-uksc-3/
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Marcus